Home > Astley Paston Cooper

Cooper was born at the village of Brooke in Norfolk. His father, Dr Samuel Cooper, was a clergyman of the Church of England; his mother was the author of several novels. At the age of sixteen he was sent to London and placed under Henry Cline (1750-1827), surgeon to St Thomas's Hospital. From the first he devoted himself to the study of anatomy, and had the privilege of attending the lectures of John Hunter. In 1789 he was appointed demonstrator of anatomy at St Thomas's hospital, where in 1791 he became joint lecturer with Cline in anatomy and surgery, and in 1800 he was appointed surgeon to Guy's Hospital, on the death of his uncle, William Cooper.

In 1802 he received the Copley medal for two papers read before the Royal Society of London on the destruction of the membrana tympani ; and in 1805 he was elected a fellow of that society. In the same year he took an active part in the formation of the Medico-Chirurgical Society, and published in the first volume of its Transactions an account of an attempt to tie the common carotid artery for aneurism. In 1804 he brought out the first, and in 1807 the second, part of his great work on herniaA hernia is the protrusion of an organ or tissue out of the body cavity in which it normally lies. By far the most common hernias develop in the abdomen, when a weakness in the abdominal wall evolves into a localized hole, or "defect", through which the p, which added so largely to his reputation that in 1813 his annual professional income rose to 21,000 sterling. In the same year he was appointed professor of comparative anatomyEvolutionary biology Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in organisms. It is closely related to evolutionary biology (see evolution) and with phylogeny (the evolution of organism development). Two major concepts of comparative to the Royal College of SurgeonsThe Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgical care for patients. It is situated at Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. It regulates surgery, including dentis and was very popular as a lecturer.

In 1817 he performed his famous operation of tying the abdominal aorta for aneurism; and in 1820 he removed a wen from the head of George IV, and about six months afterwards received a baronetA baronet (traditional abbreviation Bart modern abbreviation Bt is the holder of a species of knighthood known as a baronetcy''. The title was introduced by James I of England in 1611 to raise funds. It is an hereditary honour, but it does not amount to acy, which, as he had no son, was to descend to his nephew and adopted son, Astley Cooper. He served as president of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1827 and again in 1836, and he was elected a vice-president of the Royal Society in 1830. He died in London, and was interred, by his own desire, beneath the chapel of Guys hospital. A statue by Edward Hodges BailyEdward Hodges Baily ( March 10, 1788 May 22, 1867) was a British sculptor who was born in Bristol. His father, who was a celebrated carver of figureheads for ships, destined him for a commercial life, but even at school the boy showed his natural taste an was erected in St Paul's cathedral.

His chief works are Anatomy and Surgical Treatment of Hernia (1804-1807); Dislocations and Fractures (1822); Lectures on Surgery (1824-1827); Illustrations of Diseases of the Breast (1829); Anatomy of the Thymus Gland (1832); Anatomy of the Breast (1840).

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911 Britannica